It’s high time New York legalized weed — and 2021 could be the year to do it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
On the heels of a measure that gave the green light to recreational pot in New Jersey, Cuomo told WAMC radio that taxes on marijuana this year could help the funding-starved Empire State — where lawmakers have been duking it out over legalization for years.
“Marijuana, I’ve supported it for years. The question becomes about the money, about the distribution and the power. It always comes down to money and power: Who gets the licenses and who gets the money?” Cuomo said on “The Roundtable” with Alan Chartock.
“I think this year is ripe [for legalization] because this state is going to be desperate for funding, even with Biden, even with stimulus, even with everything else, we’re still gonna need funding and it’s also the right policy, so I think we get this done,” he said.
But a fight between Cuomo and state lawmakers on the issue has actually stalled any marijuana legalization in New York, state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) told The Post this week.
“I would say there is one major area where the governor and the Legislature are not in agreement and that is specific to using revenue for specific purpose: The governor would prefer the revenue goes into the general fund and he would decide what’s done with it,” Krueger said.
“My colleagues in the Legislature feel very strongly our revenue model, it guarantees ‘X’ percentage of the money goes to support the creation of marijuana-related business in communities of color where the most harm was done via our drug policies.”
Cuomo had just been asked in the radio interview about what’s taken New York so long to legalize marijuana, considering the Legislature likely “wants it.”
The governor responded, “New Jersey did it on the ballot, which in retrospect I think was probably the faster way.”
Legal weed, which will likely be subject to a 6.625 percent sales tax, is expected to bring $210 million in state taxes for New Jersey.